My visit to Berlin revolved around our usual travel agenda of sightseeing (primarily castles this trip but also some parks and gardens), shopping, and food!
Berlin Dining
Berlin is a city with a wide variety of options. As a European world capital and very multicultural city, you hear many languages spoken and can find fabulous food in almost any cuisine. Mexican seems to be the least available genre, much to Jenna’s dismay, but there are plenty of other delicious options in addition to fabulous traditional German cuisine.
Nearly every establishment that is not in a mall has an outdoor patio and they are almost all still open - even in November. During the colder months, they often put out blankets to wrap up in and some have space heaters, but unless it is absolutely sub-zero, you will almost always see people eating outside year round.
There are, of course, fast food chains - some of the same ones as here. But I did not go all the way to Berlin to eat at Starbucks 😂. And there are special occasion restaurants as well. But there are a whole lot of independent neighborhood restaurants and biergartens with average pricing, great food, and a lovely atmosphere - so many more than we have here.
chai latte at a bakery in Bundesplatz
Dining is a leisurely and pleasant affair in Berlin, and like in most of Europe, you have to chase someone down to get the bill when you want to leave. No one is pushing you out the door in an effort to turn as many tables as possible.
Another difference with American dining is the lack of table water - you buy your bottle of water for the table, and ice in a beverage is just not a thing.
We dined at a number of different places including the ones in Potsdam which you can read about here.
But in Berlin, we frequented bakeries. Culturally, Germany believes in the tradition of mid-afternoon Kaffe und Kuchen (coffee and cake). Pausing for a sweet refreshment and hot beverage every afternoon is a tradition I am lobbying heavily to adopt here. I am most definitely a European at heart, at least when it comes to food!
Berlin seems to have a bakery on every corner and even the generic ones at the train stations have fabulous pastry! It is a very good thing we walked so much and that I was staying in a flat that is a fifth floor walk-up!
Our first stop was the corner bakery in Jenna’s neighborhood for Kaffe und Kuchen where we ordered cappuccinos and a slice of cream cake and a strawberry tart.
our too good to go bakery haul!
Early in my trip we got the too-good-to-go bag (end of the day deals via an app by that name) where for 4.5 Euro (which is the equivalent of less than 5 dollars) we got this amazing pile of baked goods from a bakery to take home!
Food halls and food trucks are another wonderful feature in the city and we went to a food hall across town one evening where we got excellent tacos and arepas in a lively atmosphere. Seating was at a premium so scoring a table was a stroke of luck!
We happened upon one small and very early Christmas market that had the addictive sugared nuts…but I’m realizing I never did get my gluhwein!
For a memorable Sunday brunch, we went to Benedict, a wonderful breakfast-all-day restaurant on the ground floor of the Max Brown boutique hotel. It has a take out bakery section as well as a very popular dine-in restaurant with a lovely menu and an inviting interior all in black, white, and green. From the mosaic tile floor, to the tin ceiling, the green velvet seating, and the botanical wallpaper, it oozed charm. The service was friendly and attention to detail carried through every facet of the restaurant.
We had a starter of classic rosti fried potato pancakes with sour cream and chives, and then shared the brioche French toast with raspberry coulis and a Croque Madame ham sandwich topped with a fried egg and béchamel sauce.
One evening, when we were in a neighborhood with a string of excellent Turkish restaurants, we sashayed our way through several while shopping. We started with the chic Bulent Borekcilik which sells exactly one dish…but boy is it it worth it! It is a filo type buttery pastry layered with melted gooey cheese. OMGosh SO good! We washed it down with Turkish tea.
Moving on down the street we stopped into our favorite hole-in-the-wall Döner shop called Imran, (basically a Turkish sub shop). Short on atmosphere…they could definitely use help in that department starting with the lighting, but the tasty sandwiches and friendly people make up for the lack of ambience.
A classic Döner is a shaved gyro meat type sandwich with several spicy and creamy sauces and some vegetables, all piled into the most delicious pocket of bread that is some magical cross between focaccia and pita.
After walking off dinner, we ended the evening in a Turkish bakery, of course, with divine baklava-like heavenly bites of honey syrup soaked filo pastry with assorted nut fillings (we HAD to try more than one - I think the pistachio was my favorite!) and more Turkish tea. Ahhh very happy taste buds.
Our trip would not have been complete without a visit to Simela for my favorite classic flammkucken which I love so much I now also make it at home - (flammkucken recipe here) along with a flatbread with burrata and fresh tomatoes. A magnificent combo all around.
This meal was unfortunately interrupted when I broke a tooth and my body revolted by attempting to pass out. I recovered short of actually fainting, but was quite put out to leave my wine behind! Fortunately the rest of our flatbreads came home with us 😋
One evening we walked to the neighborhood charming traditional German restaurant, Ebert, the same one we had been to on my last visit. And I couldn’t resist the same schnitzel dish in a creamy sauce served alongside potatoes rosti.
The diva had the duck. Apparently duck is in season as evidenced by the duck flag planted in front of the patio 😂…shorthand for ‘we have the duck’, apparently. We shared a delectable dessert of crepe suzette complete with the table side flambé presentation.
On my last night, we strolled to an Italian trattoria in the neighborhood for pizza and wine. We were greeted in Italian and had wonderful fire roasted pizzas with excellent table wine followed by cappuccino and a fabulous zabaglione, prepared table side. The ultimate in a hi-lo dining mix?!
I think I’ve had my dessert quota for the next year, but it was all so tasty and a fun vacation treat.
Berlin Shopping
We visited several different charming shopping districts.
Of course we included a mecca to the very swank KaDeWe department store which also happens to have nice public rest rooms tucked away on the top floor FYI.
The KaDeWe was just beginning to get decked out for Christmas and the ceilings were hung with giant suspended ribbons, ornaments, and trees.
ceiling in the entrance of the KaDeWe
But my very favorite part is the top floor which has all my favorite things: stationary, art supplies, and different food vendors.
This top floor pub offered beers with a variety of interesting names 🤣
I happened upon this fancy macaron vendor called Laudurée in the middle and this kiosk just stopped me in my tracks. The millwork was all in my favorite shade of celery green. And the packaging and cookie displays were delightful, but the quartz bar and counters with the custom scalloped edges? OMGosh! That made me swoon!
On the other end of the spectrum we rummaged through thrift shops and TK Maxx (yes, the same thing as TJ Maxx here, just the different letter in Europe). It was a bit of a shock to see a display of wine and champagne in the middle of the store, but that is just another grocery item in Europe.
We visited a vintage market held in an old 1920’s dance hall…the Diva ALMOST added to her hat collection :)
We toured shops with clothing, homewares, decor, stationary, and bookstores.
I bought a perfect basic dress and found trim in a cute little stationary/gift store that was ideal for my kitchen project.
All sorts of creative advent calendars were in many stores this time of year and one of them followed me home.
And I saw this gorgeous coat in the window of the St Germaine boutique which carries French and Italian fashion. I do not need another coat, and it wasn’t my color anyway (if it had been teal, the need may have developed…), but the design was just stunningly elegant.
We found the ‘antique mile’ row of vintage and antique shops with everything from furniture and china to jewelry, handbags, and curated vintage clothing. I could have spent another whole day poking around that street. Apparently they have a sidewalk sale in the antique mile district earlier in the fall…I filed that tidbit away for future reference!
The first shop on the antique mile we were greeted by the shop dog…a sweet, fluffy boy holding down that particular section of carpet like his life depended on it! The proprietor was serving tea and holding court in the adjacent front room.
There are florists everywhere - even in the train stations - and they all have a beautiful sidewalk displays. This one was in the middle of the antique mile.
florist shop on antique mile
I also spent an afternoon in the Steglitz neighborhood shopping area while Jenna was busy teaching. There was a 4 story mall as well as several streets full of shops and restaurants.
I happened upon a shop with beautifully displayed home wares, kitchen and baking supplies, Christmas decor, stationary, and gift wrap where I bought a set of delightful accordion paper trees. And I went to the mall to buy more chocolate to bring home (I brought a staggering amount of chocolate home 😂, fortunately mostly to give away)
Speaking of chocolate, we also made a pilgrimage to the famous chocolatier, Rausch. What an incredible place! Like the Ritter Sport chocolate shop, it has a cafe on the top floor, and a make-your-own chocolate bar station - which seems completely unnecessary given the variety of flavors they offer!
In front of the shop is one of the Berlin Bear statues sited all over the center of Berlin. They are all different and this one features the bear in all white pouring a chocolate pot.
Jenna and the Berlin bear in front of the Rausch Chocolate Shop
Rausch is a bit fancier and more old fashioned in character than Ritter Sport. The main floor has nearly endless cases of truffles, barks, petit fours, and varietal chocolates.
There are also many different boxed collections and individually wrapped flavored chocolates.
But one of the most fascinating things is the collections of chocolate sculptures on display! There are huge replicas, in chocolate, of famous landmarks - the Brandenburg Gate, the Victory Tower, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the Reischtag, along with an assortment of other chocolate sculptures including a chocolate airplane suspended from the ceiling!
We only scratched the surface of the shopping and dining in Berlin and I can’t wait to go back to explore some more!
I’ll be back soon with a tour of Charlottenburg Palace and some of the other parks we visited.
